Nature Positive Role of the Technology Sector 2025

Data centres’ energy requirements have received significant public attention – by 2028, some estimate a power load as high as 140 GW,55 a growth of nearly 2.5x from current demand. This power load is equivalent to India’s estimated entire cooling energy demand by 2030.56 Data centre operations are varied, and energy is one of several broader impacts and dependencies on nature (see also Figure 11): –Electricity use: Data centres often have substantial energy loads for day-to-day operations, which serve as an indirect driver of nature loss linked to land-use change, GHGs and climate change, and pollution. For more information on data centres' power use and the energy impact of AI, please refer to the Forum's Net Positive AI Energy Framework. –Water use: Water is used extensively in many modern data centre designs for cooling; even with more closed-loop server cooling, some facilities still lose water to evaporation for facility-level heat rejection. –Material inputs and land use: Data centres’ global footprint is growing due to AI-driven demand, creating impact both from land use and from the construction materials required to build them. –Waste: Heat in wastewater can degrade local ecosystems if not properly cooled. Beyond physical waste, data waste or “dark data” that is rarely or never used can consume vast resources for storage and back-ups. Considerations related to cooling data centres merit special attention. AI growth is driving an increase in computing need, power density and therefore cooling need. Evaporative water cooling decreases power requirements, but results in increased water use. Conversely, avoiding evaporative water cooling can eliminate water consumption, but results in higher energy use. Depending on electricity source, this higher energy use can also result in increased water consumption along the value chain. Data centre operators must thoroughly assess their sites for nature impacts and dependencies around water and electricity use. Using tailored assessments to determine the trade-offs between cooling designs, then working with local regulators and communities can support development of long-term, mutually supportive approaches. The analysis in Figure 12 provides sample implications when assessing global data centre hubs based on cooling, power and water trade-offs; but the specific nuance for developers will vary site by site.2.2 Data centres Hyperscale data centre facility energy loads are upwards of 100 MW and growing. Nature Positive: Role of the Technology Sector 23